LaLiga is sending a new wave of letters these weeks. They ask the user to make a deposit as compensation for damages. They ask for up to 450 euros for having used an IPTV. But the lawyers’ recommendation is clear: It is not mandatory to respond or pay the amount.

What are these letters for? The origin of these letters arises in March 2024, when the Commercial Court No. 8 of Barcelona gave the green light to be able to identify those who consumed football without rights. In that order, the door was opened for LaLiga to request the operators’ IP address when accessing certain services.

Based on that order, LaLiga found the legal means to send these letters. These are letters of demand for prior conciliation. That is, they demand payment in order to avoid a possible future lawsuit.

261 euros to use an IPTV. Initially there were doubts on whether LaLiga was going to pursue end users or only cardsharers, but the letters are reaching users who have accessed an IPTV.

He user -tourettes- of Forocoches publishes the letter received where LaLiga demands 261.65 euros for having participated in AceStream, a popular streaming player based on VLC that was blocked in 2022, based on a judicial authorization but without a trial explaining the reasons why that tool is declared illegal.

How does LaLiga justify it? Javier Prenafetalawyer at 451.legal and expert in digital law, confirms to techopiniones that new claims are coming from LaLiga.

“In these cases, LaLiga has obtained the data of the users behind the IP addresses under the justification that they are not mere consumers in good faith without profit, because when they access the content they also share it, which implies a benefit,” explains Prenafeta.

As LaLiga describes in the letters sent: “each participant who illicitly accesses live viewing contributes to the illicit retransmission and redistribution of content for other users, improving the structure of the network and increasing the quality of content viewing for all users.” users”.

There is no obligation to pay or respond. “The option is the user’s, as the conciliation is voluntary,” describes the lawyer. That is, if a user receives one of these letters, it is not necessary for them to answer the questions, nor attend the conciliation, much less pay the amount. that is requested.

In fact, the lawyers’ recommendation is that it is counterproductive to pay, since it could be interpreted as “conformity and recognition of the illegal action.”

Counterproductive. “For the users who receive these communications, I think the main thing is that they understand that conciliation is something voluntary, that they are being asked questions that they can answer or not, since the act of conciliation is voluntary as I say, and that the effect of recognizing the activity, as the questions are asked, can lead to more consequences than paying that amount,” explains Prenafeta. “It would be recognizing that access is being given to illegal content, which could fall under the criminal code. So it is best to consult with a lawyer.”

The serious problem is that the operator transfers our data. “The matter is very surprising and bloody because what lies behind it is that LaLiga has obtained, through the court, the monitoring of Internet connections before the activity occurs, which legally should not be the case. It is very worrying because that,” admitted Prenafeta. “This involves permanent monitoring of users by operators for prospective purposes,” he criticized. David Maeztulawyer from the same firm.

The focus should be on the fact that the internet operator is giving our data without our consent. They do so following the judicial order of the Court of Barcelona, ​​a resolution that in the opinion of the lawyers consulted is not very solid: “From our point of view, obtaining the evidence is questionable, because surely many users are not even aware of how it works. Acer Stream or a P2P network,” explains Prenafeta.

What is next? Although sending these letters is a step prior to filing a lawsuit, the truth is that that step has not arrived. There is no evidence that any user who has received one of these letters has yet been sued by LaLiga.

We also have no evidence that a trial has been reached on the other side. That is, a user who has chosen to report LaLiga and the operators for the monitoring. That time will come when we can discover more details about this case.

Image | Tourettes

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